WSA
St. Alban’s Parish
Washington, D.C.
POSITION
SPECIFICATION
Treasurer
This is a voluntary, non paid position.
WSA MISSION STATEMENT
The focus of
WSA[1]
is to support projects[2]
that alleviate human suffering and directly affect the underprivileged and
underserved. We reaffirm our belief that as Christians, “our duty to our
neighbors is to love them as ourselves and to do to other people as we wish them
to do to us”, and “to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all
people.”
[3]
Treasurer’s Responsibilities
1. To receive and bank all moneys collected by WSA.
The WSA Board meets on
Tuesday mornings (second Tuesday of the month) at 9:45 am until 11:30 am.
THE OPPORTUNITY SHOP
The Opportunity Shop, which sells donated clothing, housewares, and other items, has grown from an organization that raised $2,000 annually in the mid-fifties to one that brings in more than $150,000 today. The parish’s largest outreach program, the Op Shop not only provides money for social ministry but also plays an important role in our neighborhood; for many people the shop is their chief contact with St. Alban’s. Funds raised by the shop are distributed by WSA in the form of grants to organizations that help the needy in our community and beyond. Our objective is to help the Parish share in the Christian mission to our community, the nation, and the world.
A BRIEF HISTORY
In April of 1954 and 1955 the very first rummage sales ever sponsored by St. Alban’s Church were held in the gymnasium room under Satterlee Hall. These sales were successful beyond the wildest hopes. The community enjoyed the bargains and came from miles around to buy. The women of St. Alban’s supported the venture with donations of everything from costume jewelry to pots and pans and shoes, and worked long and hard before and during the sale days.
The two day sales more than met the 1954 and 1955 budgets of The Women of Saint Alban’s, which was an umbrella organization for all the various women’s groups active at that time. They also proved that the community wanted and would support sales more frequently held. So the Reverend Robert Trenbath was approached with the idea of a little shop in the basement of Guild Hall. He approved and a chairman was appointed, a committee formed, a schedule of workers drawn up, fliers printed, appeals for donations went out, and the little room was organized and arranged. Thursday and Friday of every week , beginning in October, 1955, “ St. Alban’s Opportunity Shop” was open for business.
The shop was a success from the beginning. It did so well that when the addition to Satterlee Hall was built the budget of The Women of St. Alban’s included an item for the cost of a room in the basement of the new building. In October 1957 the OpShop continued its work in a beautiful room designed especially to function as a Shop.
The OpShop is now open
Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 to 3:00 o’clock year round except for
a month’s closing in August. It is no longer limited to women workers, as there
are many men volunteers both in the Shop and on the Board of WSA (now Workers of
St. Alban’s) WSA administers the grants that are made possible by the dedication
and energy of over 60 regular volunteers in the OpShop who come not just from
the Parish, but also from the community.
For additional information, please contact Harry Hedges, current treasurer, 202.966.4753, hedgeshk@comcast.net; JoAnn Brainard, president elect, 301.365.3647, jebrainard@yahoo.com or Tim Boggs, assistant rector for outreach, 202.363.8286, ext 217, timb@st-albans-parish.org.
[1] See History and Operation of St. Alban’s Opportunity Shop and WSA Attached.
[2] Some recent grants have been to Lorton Art Project, On Beads of Prayer, A Wider Circle, Our Place DC, Africa Round Table, Downtown Cluster of Congregations, Charlie’s Place, Sarah’s Circle, St. Alban’s Early Childhood Center and Joseph’s House.
[3] From “An Outline of the Faith”— the Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 848.
[4] See WSA Treasurer’s Report, July 8, 2008, attached.
R
OBERT SELLERY ASSOCIATES, LTD.
